Cougar corners questionable

PROVO — BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall isn't counting on two of his top cornerbacks playing in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 21 against Oregon.

The Cougars returned to practice Monday in preparation for their showdown with the Ducks. Starting cornerback Ben Criddle (toe) and backup cornerback Kayle Buchanan (broken bone in leg) were held out of drills because of injuries.

Their availability for the bowl game will be a game-time decision, Mendenhall said. Buchanan is undergoing treatment with a bone stimulator in an attempt to speed up the healing process.

"You have to plan like they're not going to (play). If they do, that's great, because they both have experience and certainly understand how to prepare and play the football game," Mendenhall said. "Their conditioning would be an issue, and obviously some of the practice reps, especially in Ben's case, he's played so much this year, I think it would come back quickly. From our standpoint, the wisest thing to do is to plan like neither one would play."

Both players, he added, have an "equal chance" of playing in the bowl game.

During Monday's drills, senior Cole Miyahira played opposite Justin Robinson at one of the cornerback spots on the Cougars' first-team defense. Miyahira is scheduled to start against Oregon if Criddle is unable to play, Mendenhall said.

Mendenhall's policy is that injured players must practice by 48 hours before kickoff to be considered to play in the upcoming game. But in this case, Mendenhall is making an exception to that rule.

"This is a relatively unique situation knowing that we're not very deep at corner," he explained. "Ben has had most of the practice reps. Kayle was the third corner, and so he received the next-most practice reps of anybody. This is consistent with what's best for the team. We're going to have to manage this, with the nature of the injuries, a little bit different than some of the other ones. I'm willing in both of those cases, because of that position and our limited depth, to go all the way to the wire."

Backup safety Corby Hodgkiss, who backs up starter Dustin Gabriel, is nursing a herniated disc in his back and is also being held out of drills.

Monday marked BYU's first practice since the last week of the regular season, which culminated with a dramatic 33-31 victory over Utah. The past two weeks, the Cougars have been participating in strength and conditioning drills.